System and method for dispensing of a receipt reflecting prepaid phone services

ABSTRACT

A system and method for electronic purchase of prepaid telephone services is provided. An initiating terminal receives input of a customer&#39;s request to purchase a specified amount of prepaid telephone services and receives input of the customer&#39;s designation of a financial account from which to electronically debit the price of such purchase. A central terminal receives these inputs from the initiating terminal, obtains authorization for the request, and transmits data to the initiating terminal for the initiating terminal to, in turn, print on a receipt and provide to the customer. This receipt is then used instead of a telephone card to obtain telephone services up to the specified amount. Such receipt may also detail instructions and an authorization number, such as a personal identification number or PIN, to initiate the pre-paid telephone service. The system and method of the present invention also preferably transfers the funds from the appropriate demand or credit account to pay for the purchased telephone services. An additional, separate Regulation E-type receipt is preferably also printed reflecting the financial transaction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to prepaid phone services, andmore particularly to a system and method for electronic dispensing of areceipt reflecting prepaid telephone services to be used by customers inplace of current prepaid telephone cards, including electronic debitingof an account for costs associated therewith.

2. Description of the Related Art

Telephone companies currently sell a physical card product that allowsconsumers to purchase pre-paid phone services, such as long distancetime, in predetermined increments of time, on the respective company'snetwork(s). Consumers purchase these cards for the convenience of acalling card with the security of a pre-set spending limit. These cardsmay be the typical plastic cards normally associated with the debit andcredit industry or are wallet-sized cardboard cards imprinted with PIN(personal identification number) information and dialing instructions.These cards are designed to be discarded once the time purchased isconsumed. The value of the card is maintained on the respectivetelephone company's network system. For purposes of convenience,“Company” will refer hereinafter to the specific telephone systemcarrier on whose network time is to be pre-purchased.

Such prepaid telephone cards are sold at retail outlets, eitherover-the-counter or through vending machines. An ordinary retail receiptis issued for the cards purchased when the cards are purchasedover-the-counter. Such receipts give the customer no additionalinformation other than that phone cards were purchased, the cost of thecard(s) purchased, the date, and, normally, the retailer where the cardswere purchased.

There are a number of drawbacks to the process described above. Acustomer must find a retail outlet which is open and is not out ofcalling cards. If a large purchase of telephone network time is desired,many retail outlets in the evening and night do not accept largedenomination currency to pay for purchases. Additionally, the retailoutlet must maintain and track a secured inventory of cards by numberand denomination, and report the sales and number of cards sold to theCompany. Such a system is very labor-intensive and costly to operate.Moreover, there is considerable expense on behalf of the Company toproduce and distribute the cards to the retailers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above problems associated with the related art, it is anobject of the present invention to provide a system and method fordispensing a printed receipt which reflects prepaid phone services to beused by a customer instead of a telephone card.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a system andmethod for electronically dispensing such receipt via an automaticteller machine (“ATM”) or personal computer fitted with a printer.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system andmethod for electronically debiting a designated account for the costs ofthe prepaid phone services reflected on such printed receipt.

The present invention achieves these and other objects by providing asystem and method for electronically dispensing a receipt reflectingprepaid phone services from an initiating terminal, such as an AutomatedTeller Machine (ATM) or personal computer, including electronic debitingof an account for costs associated therewith.

In one aspect of the present, a system and method for purchase ofprepaid telephone services is provided. An initiating terminal receivesinput of a customer's request to purchase a specified amount of prepaidtelephone services and receives input of the customer's designation of afinancial account from which to electronically debit the price of suchpurchase. A central terminal receives these inputs from the initiatingterminal, obtains authorization for the request, and transmits data tothe initiating terminal for the initiating terminal to, in turn, printon a receipt and provide to the customer. This receipt is then usedinstead of a telephone card to obtain telephone services up to thespecified amount. Such receipt may also detail instructions and anauthorization number, such as a personal identification number or PIN,to initiate the pre-paid telephone service. The system and method of thepresent invention also preferably transfers the funds from theappropriate demand or credit account to pay for the purchased telephoneservices. An additional, separate Regulation E-type receipt ispreferably also printed reflecting the financial transaction.

One advantage of the system and method of the present invention is thatit allows a wider range of payment mechanisms for financing thetransaction (e.g., credit, debit or smart cards). Many retail outlets atwhich traditional cards are sold do not take credit cards or debitcards. This limits the customer to paying with cash or check. Anotheradvantage, when the initiating terminal is an ATM, is the convenience ofpurchasing prepaid telephone cards while a customer does their banking.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments, taken together with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic overview diagram illustrating an example networkcontaining an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustrative example of a receipt printed by the system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of principal and fee transferaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the method of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention electronically dispenses a receipt for prepaidtelephone services to be used by customers in place of current prepaidtelephone cards. As a brief overview, a customer desiring to purchaseprepaid telephone services preferably uses an ATM to access the systemservices of the present invention. It should be understood that thecustomer could instead have used a personal computer outfitted with thecapability to access the system service of the present invention and aprinter. With either option (ATM or personal computer), the customerpreferably interacts with the system of the present invention via agraphic user interface (GUI).

Regardless of the input terminal selected (personal computer, ATM,etc.), the customer preferably uses a card to make funds available froma financial account corresponding to the card. Such card could be acredit card, debit card, smart card or stored value card. At this point,the funds to be transferred are held or pre-authorized as available andthe customer's account is debited. A customer's account may also bedebited the amount of a customary transaction or convenience fee. Aconvenience fee may be charged for each prepaid telephone servicetransaction. At least one receipt is printed for the customer showing an“800 number”, a PIN, and how much time has been purchased. An example ofhow such a receipt 200 might appear is illustrated in FIG. 2 anddiscussed in more detail below. The customer calls the “800” number,enters the PIN number, and preferably hears a recording telling thecustomer that he has a predetermined amount of time to talk, dependingon how much time he purchased. By following the Company's recordedprompts, the customer then dials the destination telephone number hewanted to call and begins talking. As there are many ways to carry outcustomer interaction with a Company, and such is beyond the scope of thepresent invention, it will not be described in further detail.

The present invention can probably best be understood by considering itas two distinct transactions, which will hereinafter be referred to as“requesting” and “dispensing”, together comprising the overalltransaction. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understandconsidering the initiating terminal as an “issuer” and the centralterminal as an “acquirer” for purposes of the requesting transaction, aswell as considering the central terminal as an “issuer” and theinitiating terminal as an “acquirer” for purposes of the dispensingtransaction. The requesting transaction is preferably portrayed as awithdrawal, or a withdrawal with a convenience charge, as may be thecase.

The requesting transaction may be logically considered to include arequest to purchase prepaid telephone services, a request forauthorization, and an approval (if any). Consider FIG. 1, which is aschematic diagram of an example network illustrating an embodiment ofthe present invention. The requesting portion of the overall transactionbegins with a request to electronically purchase prepaid telephoneservices from an initiating terminal. This “terminal” is the medium acustomer uses to create the request to electronically purchase theprepaid telephone services, e.g., ATM 110, personal computer 115 with aGraphical User Interface (GUI), etc. The GUI preferably supports atleast Windows, DOS or Macintosh environments. For the sake of thefollowing discussion, and unless otherwise stated, initiating terminal110 will be an ATM. It should be understood that any of the initiatingterminals ATM 110, personal computer 115, screen telephone with printingmechanism 120, or television with printing mechanism 125 could have beenused instead. Moreover, initiating terminal 110 may be physicallysituated anywhere including a convenience store, a grocery store, a postoffice, a branch of a financial institution, a mall, or other location.

Initiating terminal 110 preferably permits the transmission of debit orcredit card information with the associated PIN encrypted and encoded toensure security as to the debit or credit card information. Suchterminal, if not an ATM which is customarily DES-secure, preferablyincludes a device (not shown) attached to the communications line whichsecurely encrypts information. Several companies manufacture a devicewhich securely encrypts information, such as ised corporation, andtherefore such device will not be described in further detail herein.

As noted above, the requesting portion of the overall transactionaccording to the present invention begins with a customer's request toelectronically purchase prepaid telephone services from initiatingterminal 110. The screen or menu will have the normal transactionoptions: withdrawal, balance inquiry, deposit, etc. However, with thepresent invention, a customer can now also purchase pre-paid telephoneservices by selecting the transaction option to purchase such services.The transaction to purchase prepaid telephone services may be offered ina selection menu as “Company Prepaid Telephone Card”, as an example. Thecustomer selects the appropriate option from the screen or menu bypressing a button or touching a screen, depending upon the initiatingterminal 110, to interact with system 100 of the present invention. Ifthe customer chooses the prepaid telephone services option, initiatingterminal 110 preferably requests, via at least one screen or additionalprompt, certain information from the customer, such as what denominationof prepaid telephone services are desired to be purchased, and then, thefinancial account from which such purchase is to be electronicallydebited. The customer is also informed of any convenience fee to beassessed, if any, to perform the desired transaction. Normally, thecustomer has already inserted a card to activate ATM 110. ATM 110 of thepresent invention preferably assumes that the card corresponds to thefinancial institution from which the customer will pay for the purchase.ATM 110 preferably inquires whether the customer wishes to have thefunds taken from the customer's checking account, savings account, etc.The customer makes the desired selection. System 100 transmits therequest to purchase prepaid telephone services, together with thefinancial account from which the customer desires to have fundselectronically withdrawn to pay for such purchase, to central terminal140.

It should be understood that initiating terminal 110 could instead haveprompted the customer to designate the account to be debited the costsof the transaction before offering the customer a screen showing thedollar amounts from which to choose. For the sake of discussion, it willbe assumed that the dollar amounts of prepaid telephone services arefixed, and are in the amounts of $10, $20 and $50. It will beappreciated that such amounts are for illustration purposes only, and inno way should be construed to limit the scope of the present invention.

Initiating terminal 110 then preferably builds a Point of Sale (“POS”)transaction and passes the POS transaction to modular device handler155. Device handler 155 builds a standard transaction message based onthe contents of POS transaction received from initiating terminal 10 andsends the transaction message to router/switch 145. The standardtransaction message fields are preferably filled as follows:

-   -   Type—“0200”    -   Transaction type—“44xx00”        -   [indicating a purchase of goods or services from “xx”, where            “xx” is the account type.]    -   Point of Service (“POS”) condition code—“14”        -   [indicating a generic point of sale]    -   Merchant ID—“Company”        -   [where “Company” is the actual name of the telephone service            provider of the services for which the customer wishes to            prepay]    -   Initiating Terminal Dispense Type—        -   “7” $10 worth of prepaid telephone services dispensed        -   “8” $20 worth of prepaid telephone services dispensed        -   “9” $50 worth of prepaid telephone services dispensed    -   Merchant Type—“4812”        -   [indicating that the telephone service/equipment is            non-utility, non-regulated]    -   POS Data Code—“22140121010C”        -   [Card data input capability “2”—magnetic stripe read        -   Cardholder authentication “2”—PIN        -   Card Retention capability “1”—can capture        -   Operating environment “4”—off premises of terminal owner,            unattended        -   Cardholder present “0”—cardholder present        -   Card present “1”—card present        -   Card data input mode “2”—magnetic stripe read        -   Cardholder authentication “0”—non-authenticated        -   Cardholder authentication mode “1”—PIN        -   Security data “0”—no security concern        -   Pin capture capability “C”—12 characters]    -   Service Classification Code—“700”        -   [indicating this transaction is a general purchase of            services]            By employing the standard transaction message populated as            described above, initiating terminal 110 preferably            transmits the requested transaction information received            from the customer by a high-speed dedicated line to central            terminal 140.

Initiating terminal 110 determines that the subject transaction requiresauthorization and sends a request for authorization to central terminal140, thereby entering the next stage of the requesting transaction.While various implementations will occur to those skilled in the art,central terminal 140 preferably includes switch 145, authorization unit150, suspended journal files 170, and modular device handler 155 runningon a Tandem-based platform for real-time processing, a SUN 2000workstation for relational database 175 and MIS journal files 160, andan ESA9000 IBM mainframe for off-line (batch) processing, financialrecords maintenance, research, and reporting. Some of the many types ofreports include: reconciliation of sold and unsold PINs, account ofnumber of receipts 200 by denomination, summary of total PINs sold, etc.PINs 165 contains the different denominations of prepaid phone servicesthat Company desires to sell ($10, $20 and $50 for purposes of thepresent discussion). The PIN numbers in PINs file 165 are preferablylive and encrypted.

Switch 145 of central terminal 140 accepts the incoming request andactivates authorization unit 150. Authorization unit 150 in turnforwards the request to an authorization agent (not shown). Centralterminal 140 preferably has the appropriate linkages to debit cardnetworks and credit card authorization points to authenticate the cardand the account information belonging to the customer desiring to makethe purchase. Among the information provided to the authorization agentis the request for authorization for the principal amount correspondingto the desired level of prepaid telephone services selected by thecustomer (referred herein as “the principal”), together with theappropriate convenience or service fee, if any.

The authorization agent receives the financial information from centralterminal 140 and, assuming sufficient funds or credit exists in thereferenced account, authorizes the transaction for the full amount ofthe principal and any convenience fee. It should be understood that theauthorization agent may be a financial institution, a card issuer, anintercept processor, or a regional/national network. The system of thepresent invention permits customization to thereby allow theparticipating institutions to set their own approval limits for theircustomers.

As there are numerous known ways for obtaining authorization, any ofwhich are compatible with the system and method of the presentinvention, the actual authorization method carried out by anauthorization agent will not be considered in more detail herein.Moreover, it should be understood that the platform of central terminal140 of the present invention may also be the authorization agent andperform authorization approval with the permission and within theguidelines established by a particular financial institution.

Once the authorization agent returns an approval message to centralterminal 140, the requesting transaction has entered theauthorization-approved stage. When central terminal 140 receives anapproved transaction response, central terminal 140 writes an entry tojournal files 170 and logs the transaction in relational databases 175for long-term storage, retrieval, and reporting for subsequent researchon that data. This entry should correctly represent the transaction, butis not included in any dollar-dispensed totals accrued to the ATM. Ifthe customer selected $50 of prepaid services, and an approval isreturned from the authorization agent, the transaction is preferablyprocessed as a POS transaction for $50, i.e., for the dispense of one$50 prepaid telephone services receipt 200. The, ATS screen andbalancing receipt is preferably modified to included counts of telephonereceipts 300 dispensed, by denomination. However, it is preferred thatno change be made to the standard Regulation E financial transactionreceipt.

Return momentarily to FIG. 2 which illustrates an example receipt 200for prepaid telephone services. The key components are the clear, livePIN, the Company number to call to access the services paid for(preferably toll-free), and any expiration date of the PIN. Theseelements are taken directly from the TENS, TWENTIES and FIFTIES files,except for the clear PIN. Device handler 155 decrypts the KPE usingvariant zero of the “known” KKE, then decrypts the PIN using variantzero of the clear KPE.

Receipt 200 is preferably printed prior to printing the financialtransaction receipt. If the receipt printer faults before receipt 200 iscompletely printed, initiating terminal 110 preferably reverses thetransaction. Initiating terminal 110 will then immediately report areceipt printer fault and the transaction menu item “Prepaid telephoneservices” will not be available. If a reversal occurs, regardless ofreason, device handler 155 preferably returns the entire record—theencrypted PIN, encrypted KPE, toll-free #, batch number, expiration dateand file key to central terminal 140 for insertion back into theappropriate TENS, TWENTIES or FIFTIES file in PINs database 165.

The second portion of the overall transaction, the dispensingtransaction, will now be considered. When the transaction response isreturned by authorization 150 to device handler 155 as approved, devicehandler 155 formats a request to central terminal 140 for the nextavailable PIN in the appropriate TENS, TWENTIES or FIFTIES files. Itshould be observed at this point that if the transaction is returned bythe authorization agent as not approved, device handler 155 delivers thedenial to initiating terminal 110 for communication to the customer,without requesting a PIN from central terminal 140.

Central terminal 140 returns to device handler 155 a message containingthe PIN, the associated KPE, a toll free number, batch number, and thefile key. Central terminal 140 deletes the record from the TENS,TWENTIES, OR FIFTIES file of PINs 165 at this time. Device handler 155transmits the PIN to initiating terminal 110, which in turn prints thePIN on issued receipt 200 for the customer. The PIN can be provided tothe customer via a variety of methods, depending upon initiatingterminal limitations, but preferably it is provided to the customer onreceipt 200. Initiating terminal 110 preferably also issues a separatereceipt (standard Regulation E) which itemizes the principal amounttransferred to pay for the phone services purchased, and the conveniencefee charged the customer's account for the transaction, if any, and fromwhich account such funds were electronically debited. It should beunderstood that while two separate receipts may be issued by initiatingterminal 110, according to another embodiment of the present invention,initiating terminal 110 issues only one receipt bearing on its face allof the information found on the two separate receipts of the preferredembodiment.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that centralterminal 140 of the present invention may be accessed, preferably viahigh-speed dedicated lines, from any number of networks 130 with theirown initiating terminals and financial institutions with which they areassociated. Because of this open design, an initiating terminal 110,such as an ATM, on a different network 130 than central terminal 140 mayobtain authorization for and receive a live PIN to be provided to theircustomer.

Company is preferably connected to central terminal 140 by dial-uptransmission line, but it will be understood that a dedicated line couldbe used instead. It should also be understood that more than one Companymay be supported by the present system, in which case separate PINs 165could be maintained for each Company supported.

As needed, new live PINs are provided by Company in a file calledPINFILE to replenish PINs 165. PINFILE's record length is 80 bytes.Example file and record layouts for PINFILE are contained in Table A.The file is usually transmitted using an RJE SNA protocol dialupconnection (remote 241) to central terminal 140. Each PIN number ispreferably associated with a set amount of telephone service timecorresponding to a given denomination shown in receipt 200. Thus, whenCompany's system encounters a PIN number, it knows that the encounteredPIN number is a $20 PIN number, for example, and accordingly responds.TABLE A PINFILE Element Description Attribute PINFILE file header:Record type “H” 1 A File Replacement “L” or “U” 1 A Code File Name“PINFILE” 7 A Filler blank 65 S Record Number “000001” 6 N PINFILEdetail record: Record type “D” 1 A PIN hex character set, 0-F 16 ANFiller blank 1 S KPE hex character set, 0-F 16 AN Filler blank 1 SDenomination “10” or “20” or “50” 2 AN Filler blank 1 S Denomination“10” or “20” or “50” 2 AN Filler blank 1 S 800# character set, 0-9 7 NThis is the 800 number the consumer calls - printed on receipt 200Filler blank 1 S Expiration date MMDDYYYY 8 N Filler blank 1 S Batch #Comp. batch number, right 9 N justified, zero filled printed on receipt200 Filler blank 10 S Record number sequential within file, 6 N rightjustified, zero filled PINFILE trailer record: Record type “T” 1 A TotalNumber count of $10 PINs 6 N of $10 Records detail of records TotalNumber count of $20 PINs 6 N of $20 Records detail records Total Numbercount of $50 PINs 6 N of $50 Records detail records Total Dollars total$ for all detail records 6 N Total Record recount count in file, 7 Nincluding header and trailer records Filler blank 42 S Records Numbersequential within file, 6 N right justified, 0 filledExplanation of Terms for Table A:

-   Batch #—The Company batch from which the particular PIN has been    taken. This number will be printed on receipt 200.-   Denomination—“10” or “20” or “50” (i.e., the dollar amount    associated with the PIN).-   File Replacement Code—“L” indicates a full file load and “U”    indicates an update. A full file load should only be performed for    the first file sent. All files subsequent to the first file should    be updates.-   Expiration Date—Preferably assigned by Company, sent in MMDDYYYY    format. Will be printed on receipt 200.-   File Name—Constant “PINFILE”.-   PIN—The encrypted PIN. This is a 16-character hex number resulting    when the 10 character clear PIN is encrypted under a Key for PIN    Encryption (KPE).-   KPE—The encrypted Key for PIN Encryption. This is the key used for    encrypting the PIN, encrypted under a Key for Key Encryption (KKE).-   Record Number—A sequential number, incremented by 1, associated with    the record in the file. The header record should always be “000001”.-   Record Type—Constant “H” for a header record, constant “D” for    detail records, or constant “T” for a trailer record.-   Total Dollars Represented—Total dollars represented by all detail    records.-   Total Number of $10 Records—Count of detail records containing $10    PINs.-   Total Number of $20 Records—Count of detail records containing $20    PINs.-   Total Number of $50 Records—Count of detail records containing $50    PINs.-   Total Records—Count of all records in file, including header and    trailer records.-   800#—This is the last seven digits of the toll-free number a    consumer will call to use the prepaid telephone services reflected    by his receipt 200. This number, formatted “800-NNN-NNNN” will be    printed on receipt 200.

Central terminal 140 builds three key-sequenced files for storage of thenew PINs in PINs 165, one for each denomination of prepaid telephoneservices available for purchase: $10, $20, or $50. Each recordpreferably consists of the encrypted PIN, the key under which the PINhas been encrypted, the expiration date associated with the PIN, theCompany batch number from which the PIN has been taken, and the lastseven digits of the toll-free number associated with this PIN. The Keyfor PIN Encryption (KPE) is stored encrypted under a Key for KeyEncryption (KEK). While the KEK is preferably generated by the Company,central terminal 140 can also be adapted to generate the KEK. The KEKvalue is input as a run-time parameter to device handler 155, which, aswas mentioned earlier, is responsible for the decryption of each PIN asit is removed from PINs 165 and transmitted to the customer.

Consider momentarily FIG. 3, which is a schematic block illustration ofprincipal and fee (if any) transfer according to a preferred embodimentof the present invention. Upon receipt of the approval message, whichamounts to approval of the authorization request and reflects the factthe customer does in fact have sufficient funds available, centralterminal 140 “withdraws” the money from the customer's account 310 andcredits holding account 320. Central terminal 140 also credits holdingaccount 340 with a convenience fee, if any. The transaction is normallysettled on a predetermined basis among the parties owning the pieces ofthe system responsible for carrying out the overall transaction. Thedistribution of the settlement is preferably a batch process.

As is the normal business practice within the electronic funds transfer(EFT) industry, once system 100 of the present invention has received anauthorization approval message, the relevant financial institution hascommitted to reimburse the owner of initiating terminal 110 (an ATM inthe present example) that will, in effect, be advancing funds on thecustomer's behalf when initiating terminal 110 dispenses receipt 200 forprepaid telephone services to the customer. Thus, the authorizationapproval is a guarantee on the part of the issuing institution that theacquiring institution will be reimbursed. For this reason, system 100 ofthe present invention can complete the overall transaction even inadvance of actually getting the funds from the institution.

Consider lastly FIG. 4, which is a flowchart illustrating an embodimentof the method of the present invention. At Block 410 initiating terminal110 receives a request to purchase a specified amount of prepaidtelephone services (as described hereinabove) from a customer.Initiating terminal 110 requests and receives input from the customerdesignating a financial account from which central terminal 140 is toelectronically debit the price of such purchase (block 420). Centralterminal 140 requests authorization for such purchase from theauthorizing agent responsible for the financial account designated bythe customer at block 430. Assuming authorization is obtained, centralterminal 140 then journals the transaction (block 440). Central terminal140 may at this point electronically debit the specified financialaccount (block 450). Next, central terminal 140 obtains a PIN from PINs165. This PIN is transmitted, at block 460, to initiating terminal 110,together with whatever calling instructions Company designates. Itshould be understood that the calling instructions to be printed on thereceipt may be stored at initiating terminal 110 instead of beingtransmitted from central terminal 140. Initiating terminal 110 thenprints a receipt (block 470), which is provided to the customer. Thisreceipt contains the transmitted PIN and instructions, and is usedinstead of a telephone card to obtain telephone services up to thespecified (purchased) amount. At block 480 a separate Regulation E-typereceipt is preferably also printed.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the presentdescription is provided only by way of illustrative example and shouldin no manner be construed to limit the invention as described herein.Numerous modifications and alternate embodiments of the invention willoccur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that theinvention be limited only in terms of the following claims:

1-142. (canceled)
 143. A system for purchase of prepaid telephoneservices, comprising: a central terminal operable to receive a requestto purchase prepaid telephone services from an initiating terminal;wherein the central terminal is further operable to: receive anidentifier of a financial account to be used to purchase the prepaidtelephone services; seek authorization for the request; and log atransaction indicating the purchase of prepaid telephone services inresponse to receipt of an authorization.
 144. The system of claim 143,wherein the central terminal received the request from the initiatingterminal over a communication network.
 145. The system of claim 143,wherein the central terminal is further operable to cause the electronicdebiting of the financial account using the identifier.
 146. The systemof claim 143, wherein the central terminal is further operable totransmit receipt data to the initiating terminal which reflects thepurchase of prepaid telephone services.
 147. The system of claim 143,wherein the request further comprises a predetermined amount of prepaidtelephone services selected from a plurality of amount options.
 148. Thesystem of claim 147, wherein the predetermined amount comprises a dollaramount.
 149. The system of claim 143, wherein the request was receivedfrom a personal computer.
 150. The system of claim 143, wherein seekingauthorization for the request further comprises seeking authorizationfor a financial amount dependent upon an amount of prepaid telephoneservices included with the request.
 151. The system of claim 143,wherein the financial account comprises an account type selected fromthe group consisting of a credit card account and a debit card account.152. The system of claim 143, wherein the central terminal is furtheroperable to send rejection data to the initiating terminal ifauthorization for the request was not obtained.
 153. A method forprocessing prepaid phone service transactions, comprising: receiving, ata central terminal, a request to purchase prepaid telephone servicesthat was generated by an initiating terminal; seeking financialauthorization for the request using the central terminal; and logging atransaction using the central terminal indicating the purchase ofprepaid telephone services in response to receipt of an authorization.154. The method of claim 153, further comprising: receiving anidentifier of a financial account to be used to purchase the prepaidtelephone services.
 155. The method of claim 153, wherein the centralterminal received the request from the initiating terminal over acommunication network.
 156. The method of claim 154, further comprising:causing, using the central terminal, the electronic debiting of thefinancial account using the identifier.
 157. The method of claim 154,further comprising: causing, using the central terminal, the electronicdebiting of the financial account using the identifier. transmittingoutput data from the central terminal to the initiating terminal,wherein the output data is to be used instead of a telephone card toobtain telephone services; and wherein the request was received from apersonal computer.
 158. The method of claim 153, further comprising:transmitting receipt data from the central terminal to the initiatingterminal which reflects the purchase of prepaid telephone services. 159.The method of claim 153, wherein the request further comprises apredetermined amount of prepaid telephone services selected from aplurality of amount options.
 160. The method of claim 154, wherein thefinancial account comprises an account type selected from the groupconsisting of a credit card account and a debit card account.
 161. Themethod of claim 153, further comprising: sending rejection data from thecentral terminal to the initiating terminal if authorization for therequest was not obtained.
 162. The method of claim 153, furthercomprising: receiving an identifier of a financial account to be used topurchase the prepaid telephone services; causing, using the centralterminal, the electronic debiting of the financial account using theidentifier; and wherein the request was received from a personalcomputer.
 163. The method of claim 162, wherein the request furthercomprises a predetermined amount of prepaid telephone services selectedfrom a plurality of amount options.
 164. The method of claim 162,wherein the financial account comprises an account type selected fromthe group consisting of a credit card account and a debit card account.165. A system for purchase of prepaid telephone services, comprising: aninitiating terminal, operable to receive a request to purchase prepaidtelephone services; wherein the initiating terminal is further operableto: transmit the request to a central terminal; receive output data fromthe central terminal if the request was financially authorized, whereinthe output data reflects the purchase of prepaid telephone services.166. The system of claim 165, wherein the initiating terminal isoperable to transmit the request over a communication network.
 167. Thesystem of claim 165, wherein the initiating terminal is further operableto transmit an identifier of a financial account to be used to purchasethe prepaid telephone services in connection with the request.
 168. Thesystem of claim 165, wherein the request further comprises apredetermined amount of prepaid telephone services selected from aplurality of amount options.
 169. The system of claim 165, wherein theinitiating terminal comprises a personal computer.
 170. The system ofclaim 165, wherein the initiating terminal comprises a telephone. 171.The system of claim 167, wherein the financial account comprises anaccount type selected from the group consisting of a credit card accountand a debit card account.
 172. The system of claim 165, wherein theinitiating terminal further comprises a graphical user interfaceoperable to receive the request.
 173. A method for processing prepaidphone service transactions, comprising: receiving at an initiatingterminal, a request to purchase prepaid telephone services; transmittingthe request to a central terminal; receiving output data from thecentral terminal if the request was financially authorized, wherein theoutput data reflects the purchase of prepaid telephone services. 174.The method of claim 173, wherein transmitting the request furthercomprises: transmitting the request over a communication network. 175.The method of claim 173, further comprising: transmitting, to thecentral terminal, an identifier of a financial account to be used topurchase the prepaid telephone services in connection with the request.176. The method of claim 173, wherein the request further comprises apredetermined amount of prepaid telephone services selected from aplurality of amount options.
 177. The method of claim 173, wherein theinitiating terminal comprises a personal computer.
 178. The method ofclaim 175, wherein the financial account comprises an account typeselected from the group consisting of a credit card account and a debitcard account.
 179. The method of claim 173, further comprising:receiving the request with a graphical user interface.
 180. The methodof claim 173, wherein the initiating terminal comprises a telephone.